Ellie Mae
by CALLEN37
Summary: Deeks is surprised by a case that brings him back into contact with the 'one ' that got away, How will he handle the feelings and consequences that come from this meeting. Definitely a WIP. So rated M. Not a crossover but Mentions of the DC NCIS team.
1. Chapter 1

Ellie Mae.

Chapter 1.

1997

Deeks threw his bag on the ground of his class room and pulled out his advanced anatomy book, looking at it, like it was cursed. "I can't do this!" he moaned to his anatomy teacher.

Jordan Hampton smiled. She liked Marty he was quirky and fun and a promising student, she knew a little about his background and knew he was currently staying in a foster home; So he had it a bit harder than most students and his drive for a scholarship was more intense than most.

"Ok I can give you some one to one tuition time Martin; you need to promise me you will put the effort in on this."

"I need the credit to keep my GPA up so I can get into Law school, I promise I will do my best." He said his eyes sparkling as he turned a cheeky grin towards her.

She felt her heart leap, No…he was a student, granted she was 28 and ten years older than him. She shook her head and went back to drawing up a study schedule with the blond haired student.

* * *

Jordan and Deeks spent a lot of time studying for his Advanced anatomy final, Late one night they sat in the living room of Jordan's apartment, it had been easier for Deeks to go there to study that week, his latest set of Foster parents were bikers and partied till late and sleep and studying were not as important to them as the child welfare check was.

Deeks looked up as Jordan handed him a soda. "I think you're as ready as you will ever be." She said smiling at him.

"You really think so, thanks Jordan." Deeks said with a grin, taking the books off the table he dropped one and they both bent down to get it at the same time.

"I…" Jordan said lost for words. She looked into his deep blue eyes.

"Sorry, I…" Deeks looked at her and before he knew what was happening he kissed her.

"We…we can't, It's inappropriate, I'm your teacher…" Jordan said pushing herself away from him.

"Not after tomorrow." Deeks said, "My finals are tomorrow."

"Marty…I" Jordan looked at her hand which was holding his.

Deeks didn't care, he had fallen for this woman, she was his world, a little age difference didn't matter to him, she was beautiful and she spent time with him and cared about him.

He lifted his hand and grasped her neck, as his lips crashed down on hers and his hands roamed up her back.

Jordan moaned into the kiss and lost any coherent thought she had as they came together.

In the morning she awoke alone, a note on her pillow, 'Gone surfing, then finals, see you later, love Marty'.

She curled herself up into a ball, what had she done…she knew what she had done, she had slept with a student, she couldn't stay there.

Packing her essentials up she called the college and handed in her resignation, she still had her doctorate, and could still practice medicine, but she decided to go online and see if there were any positions available, there was a medical examiners position at Bethesda in Maryland…all the way across country, it would do.

Packing the last of her stuff she left a note for Marty wishing him luck saying that she was sorry she had broken his trust and what they had had together, although special was wrong and that he should not worry about her, but work hard on his studies and fulfill his potential.

When Deeks arrived back six hours later, he picked up the note off her kitchen table and sank to the floor and cried.

* * *

Present day.

Monty padded through the kitchen absentmindedly sniffing at Kensi as she made coffee for her and Deeks as he walked out of the bedroom.

"Did I let you in?" he asked with a grin

"Nope, picked your lock." Kensi smiled handing him his coffee.

"I could arrest you, you know…" he teased.

"But you won't…" Kensi smiled. "Come on Deeks, we're going to be late." She said grabbing his keys off the counter.

He put his mug down and with a 'there's no helping her' look at Monty followed her to the car.

* * *

Callen arrived first at the mission and started up his laptop, no emails, he never expected any but he checked anyway. Checking his 'other' accounts for his aliases apart from junk mail they were pretty much empty as well. His work one had one email, his regular one from Agent McGee in Washington, keeping him in the loop on Gibbs' welfare; they had corresponded frequently since he was shot, Gibbs insisting he had a way of making sure Callen didn't get into too much trouble again.

Sam arrived fifteen minutes later, griping about some band his daughter wanted to see…one…something, Callen really wasn't paying attention.

As Kensi and Deeks arrived Eric was talking to Hetty on the balcony he looked over and whistled.

"All hands on deck!" he called Hetty rolled her eyes and walked into Ops as the others filed up the stairs.

"What have we got Eric?" Callen asked as they walked in.

"The new Medical Examiner at NCIS is San Diego has had her daughter kidnapped, the MCRT out there has been looking into the supply of drugs to new Marines there, two have been killed by using tainted steroids and she was looking into the case with the team." Eric said as he put a picture up of a fifteen year old blonde haired girl.

"Her name is Ellie Hampton, she's fifteen, and she's a bright student, got a 4.0 GPA."

"Any chance she's just got in with the wrong crowd? I mean she's fifteen, so maybe a boyfriend, drugs, gangs?" Deeks asked.

"I don't think so, Mr. Deeks." Hetty said walking around, "Her mother joined the San Diego team six months ago after a few temporary stints with NCIS in Washington filling in for their Dr. Mallard."

"Ducky? Nice…" Callen commented.

Hetty raised an eyebrow at the interruption but continued. "She signed up in San Diego and she and her daughter moved over here, Miss Hampton didn't know many people out here."

"You said she and her daughter, is there any chance the child's father could have taken her?" Kensi asked

"I don't think so; there is no record of Ellie Hampton ever having contact with her birth father. From what Dr. Hampton has told Director Vance, her father has no idea she exists. No, I think I agree with the director on this one, this is a direct attempt on the San Diego office to thwart their investigation. Tread carefully we have this as the Director thinks that this may be an inside job, someone in the San Diego office may be dirty."

"Ok so Sam and I will check out the school, Kensi I need you and Deeks to go to the NCIS office in San Diego and meet with Dr. Hampton."

* * *

Arriving at the San Diego office they signed in at the gate and waited as Dr. Hampton was paged to go to the conference room that they were waiting in.

Deeks looked around the room. "I hear the walls in DC are this ridiculous shade of orange as well." He remarked, "I wonder if Vance has them this color all around the world?"

Kensi sighed as she saw a woman with a white coat walk across the yard to the building.

"I think she's coming, how do you want to play this?" Kensi asked.

"Maybe she's in on it, I mean her daughter's missing and she's still at work? I think we should go bad cop, worse cop." Deeks suggested. He looked out of the window as the door opened.

"Dr Hampton, Agent Blye NCIS, Detective Deeks LAPD." Kensi said as she walked in.

"Marty?" She said

Deeks turned around, his face was shocked for a second he wiped his shock and motioned her take a seat. "Dr. Hampton." He said coldly.

"Marty I….." Jordan stammered.

"So, your daughter is missing and you are still working, I knew you were callous…" Deeks started as Kensi looked at him confused.

Jordan burst into tears. "Deeks!" Kensi hissed.

"You have anything to do with this; did they take her to get to you? Are you dealing steroids using your prescription pads?"

"DEEKS!"

"NO!" Jordan and Kensi yelled at the same time.

"Deeks?" Kensi asked.

Deeks walked out of the room and slammed the door.

* * *

Kensi looked at Jordan and asked for a moment, and then following her partner outside she stood staring at him.

"Deeks what in the hell was that?"

"Nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing!" Kensi snapped. "I take it you know Dr. Hampton."

"I thought I did."

"GOD!" Kensi yelled walking away in frustration she called Callen.

'Callen? It's Kensi, there's something going on over here, Deeks knows the Doctor and he just lost it when they met, I don't know what it is, he's not talking….sure, just make it quick." Kensi closed her phone and turned as Deeks walked back into the room.

"So who do you think took your daughter?" Deeks asked.

"I don't know." Jordan said, "She hasn't been here long enough to make friends, she's a loner, she keeps to herself, the only friends she has are surfing buddies, she loves surfing."

"What about her father…Could this just be a domestic?" Deeks asked.

"No her father doesn't have her." Jordan said.

"Oh you know that for a fact do you?" Deeks sneered. It looked cut and dried to him, the kid father had her and Jordan was just protecting the scumbag.

"Yes." Jordan looked at him her eyes growing dark.

"And just how do you know that?" He snapped.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE STANDING RIGHT THERE!" She screamed in his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Deeks stood there his mouth agape. "What?" he asked.

"Ellie, she's yours." Jordan said, "That's how I know her father didn't take her."

Deeks shook his head and stepped away from her as she tried to put her hand on his arm, "No….No…your lying!" he turned and slammed out of the conference room, the San Diego NCIS agents looking at the LA detective as he all but ran outside.

Deeks made it outside when he threw up into a bush just outside the front door.

"Nice," Sam commented as he and Callen arrived to see Deeks vomit into the bush.

Callen stepped back as Deeks looked up, his face a mixture of fear, horror and sorrow. "Deeks…You ok?" he asked.

"I…No…I need to…" Deeks stepped away from the team leader. "I can't do this…not me…"

"Deeks what happened?" Sam asked concerned as Kensi came bursting out of the door.

"Deeks how could you leave her like that, you need to be in there now, they need you."

Deeks shook his head wildly, "NO! This has NOTHING to do with me, Nothing…not mine."

Kensi looked shocked, "Look Deeks, Marty, you didn't expect this I know it's a bit of a shock, but you need to step up, Ellie will need her father." She tried to reason.

Deeks looked at her his face a mask of anger, "No, Jordan is a liar, I am not her or anyone's father…I can't be a father." He shook her hand off him and walked off down the street as Kensi was left to fill the other two in.

* * *

After Kensi had finished telling them what was going on Callen picked up the phone and called Eric, "Eric, I need you to run a full background check on Dr. Jordan Hampton and also, Ellie Hampton." He said and hung up.

Sam looked fit to bust.

"Kensi and I will take Dr. Hampton; I'm going to find Deeks." Callen said.

"You find him, you tell him, if this is his daughter he had better step up, I thought he was more of a man than that." Sam growled.

"I don't get it?" Kensi said, "Deeks is great with kids, this is why I asked him to help when we sat for your daughter."

"Yeah, well, this is why I don't trust him to look after kids…" Sam growled as Callen left them.

Callen walked down the road that Deeks had headed down, walking past a row of shops Callen stopped outside a bar, 'surely Deeks wouldn't drink while on duty?' Callen thought, but he opened the door to the bar. Sure enough Deeks was sitting in the back nursing a whisky.

"Deeks, you can't drink, you're on duty." Callen said.

"Gotta drink now ain't I…." Deeks laughed sourly. "How can she do this to me…how many times can one woman kill me?" Deeks stared at the drink.

Callen looked over at the bartender, "How many has he had?"

"None." The bartender said, "Walked in ten minutes ago, ordered that and has just stared at it."

Callen nodded his thanks and sat down next to Deeks.

"You wanna talk about it?" Callen asked.

"I…I can't be her father, she doesn't deserve it…she's just a kid."

"They tend to come like that." Callen quipped.

"You don't get it….I can't be a father…you know what they say, victims become abusers, I WON'T become my father!" Deeks looked down.

Callen looked at Deeks he seemed so lost. "Ok so don't, help us find her, don't be your father, keep her safe and once we know she's safe if you are sure you will be a danger to her walk away." He said.

Deeks looked up and sighed, "I am already like him aren't I?" he asked.

"Only if you stay here." Callen said and turned and walked out, hoping Deeks would follow him.

Outside the bar, Callen called Kensi and Sam and filled them in, "You take Dr. Hampton home, the kidnappers may get in contact there…I'll see what Eric has and meet you there," He said.

"And Deeks?" Sam growled.

"We will see." Callen said he walked back to the car and waited.

* * *

Eric was still working in Ops as Callen and Deeks walked in.

"I got as much information as I could," Eric started but Callen shook his head. "Oh…Ok, I have footage of Ellie being kidnapped." He said and put the traffic cam footage up on the plasma.

Deeks gripped the table as he watch the girl, his daughter, as she walked along the road, A dark blue van came down the opposite side of the road and circled back behind her.

Ellie had grabbed her bag tighter and moved away from the road as the car slowed down.

"Good girl." Deeks found himself muttering.

A side door opened and two men in balaclava's grabbed her kicking and screaming and threw her into the van, slammed the door shut and sped off.

Deeks went white and ran out of ops.

Callen with a small smile followed.

Callen stood just inside the restrooms as he waited for Deeks to finish vomiting. "You better now?" He asked.

"Yeah, I dunno what came over me…I was…"

"Scared?"

Deeks shrugged, he was a detective working for an elite undercover team, he didn't get scared and he told Callen so.

Callen shrugged and turned, "The Vic' has never been your kid before." He remarked.

Deeks pushed past him and stormed out of the room.

"You may need to sit this one out." Callen remarked.

"I can still do my job!" Deeks snapped back.

"Ok, you sure, 'cause we need to go to Dr. Hampton's house and see if there are any clues there, Eric is checking through the dossiers of anyone working the Steroid case at NCIS, we need to see if any of the agents know Dr. Hampton well enough to know her daughter's routine." Callen said.

"Dunno, any of them impressionable kids." Deeks mumbled.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing." Deeks said and walked outside to the car.

* * *

Jordan opened the door to her home and waited as Kensi and Sam checked the building.

"She isn't here." Jordan said snappily.

Kensi shot her a look, "No but maybe, the kidnappers left something here. You never said, have you heard from them yet?"

"Nothing after the initial call to say she had been taken, but I haven't checked the answer machine yet." Jordan said, she looked over and there were no messages. The slump in her shoulders was evident.

"Does she own a Smartphone or laptop?" Kensi asked.

"She has a cell phone, nothing too fancy, she's not old enough, but she has a laptop, in her room." Jordan said, "I'll just go and…"

"We'll get it." Kensi said

Jordan told them which room and they walked in and stopped dead. There was a huge picture on the wall of Ellie as a baby, she looked surprisingly like Deeks the shaggy blonde hair and the deep blue eyes in the midst of a huge smile, There was a box next to her laptop with a pile of letters in it. Kensi went to pick the box up.

"Don't touch those!" Jordan snapped seeing Kensi go for the box.

"If she's been writing to someone, she may have clues of who took her." Kensi said as Sam installed a flash drive on her computer for Eric to take stuff off.

"Not those…please. Ellie has been writing those for years…They are for Marty."

Kensi looked at the box, 'Letters for my Daddy!" was written in marker pen and decorated with flowers on the top.

"OK." Kensi agreed and put them down.

She looked around the room, there were still some boxes she hadn't unpacked, and her surfboard was leaning in the corner of her room, her wetsuit flung over the top of it.

The phone rang and Jordan ran from the room to answer it.

* * *

Ellie felt groggy, and her head hurt. She cracked open and eye and shivered as she realized she had no idea where she was.

"Mom?" she called out her voice was croaky, she went to rub her eyes but she realized that her hands were bound.

"Mom's not here." A voice from the darkness called.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"It's not important, just the message we need to get to your mother is…she needs to let her latest body go, not to autopsy it and you're gonna tell her." The man said walking in front of her face and holding a phone near her face.

"Bite me!" Ellie said.

The man hit her around the face and dialed a number as Ellie sniffed.

She heard the sound of the phone ringing and her mother's voice.

"Ellie Mae?" Jordan said as she picked up the phone.

"Mommy?" Ellie sniffed,

"Honey are you alright?" Jordan asked.

"She's fine for now, but she won't be unless you do as we say." A man's voice cut across Ellie's frightened sniffing.

"What do you want?" Jordan asked shaking as she held the phone.

"Petty Officer Starling, he's in your morgue, we want his body, untouched."

"I can't…." Jordan started and then stopped as she heard a slap and Ellie cry out.

"You want your daughter untouched then we get him untouched, you understand?" The man snarled. "And Dr. Hampton, I know you have the L.A. Agents with you, tell them to back off."

The phone went dead.

* * *

"How do I know where to deliver the body to? I can't just dump it? Agent Blye, I want my daughter back." Jordan sobbed.

"We'll get her back." Deeks said from the doorway. "You need to come with us."

"Where?" Jordan asked.

"OSP." Callen told her,


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ellie looked around her prison; oh it was a nice prison, but a prison nonetheless. She had a bed, a desk and chair, and a well stocked bathroom. The man guarding her day to day was nice enough, he made sure she got fed and watered, and he got her bag, after checking she had no cell phone or laptop in there, and he dropped it at her feet.

"You need anything?" He asked

"To be let out." She quipped, knowing it was a useless request.

"I can't do that, the boss would kill me." The man said.

"Get another boss, you thought of going into something more lucrative like burger flipping."

The man grumbled and walked out of the room locking it as he did so.

As soon as he was gone Ellie looked through her bag to see if he had left anything useful.

"Nothing!" She sighed, she got her homework and out decided it was a good idea to at least get it done, maybe if she was lucky she'd live long enough to graduate high school.

She paced the room a few times, did some stretches and some pushups but nothing could get her to calm down, her instinct told her, this was going to be bad. She had met two of the 'goons' who had her, but not the boss. Whomever he was, but she had seen their faces, she'd watched enough procedural cop shows to know if you see their faces the outcome for the victim isn't good….and she loved cop shows.

She tried to look out of the boarded up window, but she couldn't see anything outside but scrub-land, so screaming was out, which was good in her opinion, coz she wasn't a weak girly girl.

* * *

She sat on the bed and took stock of her situation, She'd hated D.C as a child to her it was always too cold, she had longed for the sea and the waves, when she was small her mother had taken her to California to see her Grandfather, who was very old and kept looking at her like she was evil, she hadn't liked him at all, but she had loved the waves. Joining a summer program while her mom looked for work she had learnt to surf, it was, she felt in her blood. If she'd had her way she would have lived and breathed surfing. Her mother however told her it was frivolous and she should concentrate on her studies that fight was when she'd first heard about her father.

They had come back to Washington, D.C. as Uncle Ducky from NCIS was unwell, someone had hurt him and her mother had been asked to fill in for him at the navy yard. She hadn't wanted to come and had begged her mom to be allowed to return to California to enroll in the summer school that they had out there for the next month.

"NO!" Jordan yelled as Ellie stormed up the stairs at their brownstone.

"But mom, all my friends are there and it's surfing, there's nothing to do in DC in the summer!" she yelled back.

"There are parks, museums, cultural things you can see and do!" Jordan said trying to calm down, "You are not going all the way across country without me."

"But I'm old enough!"

"You are 12 years old!"

"Exactly, I'm not a baby!" She yelled her blue eyes flashing.

"You're being irresponsible." Jordan countered

"I just want to surf, MOM!" Ellie stormed.

Jordan huffed "You're just like your father, stubborn, willful and headstrong."

Ellie stopped; her mother had never mentioned her father.

"I am?" she looked her mother in the eye and looking at her Jordan could see a lot of Marty in her. "Why does he never come to see me, does he not like me?" she asked her anger dissipating as she sat on the stairs.

Jordan sat beside her daughter and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

"He doesn't know about you, baby. I'm sure if he did he would come straight away and would love you as much as I do."

"Why doesn't he know about me mom?" she asked.

Jordan sighed; this was a conversation she had been avoiding for years.

"Marty was a lot younger than I was, and what we had although special, wasn't for very long, I didn't want to tie him down and I left before I found out I was pregnant. I tried to find him after that, but he was still in foster care, he'd moved and I did know how to find him, I think he's a lawyer at least that's what he was studying for."

"What was his last name?" Ellie asked

"Deeks, baby his last name was Deeks although he had changed it once, I'm not sure if he still uses it."

Ellie listened to her mother and got up. "Ok." She said determinedly.

"What?" Jordan asked suddenly afraid. "Ellie Mae?" she called.

"I'm going to find him…well at least write to him." She said and headed to her room.

Jordan sat on the step listening to her daughter run up to her attic bedroom, "Oh, God…Marty I am so sorry," she sighed her head in her hands.

* * *

Ellie had written hundreds of letter to her father, she had tried to find him, but in all of the lawyer's lists she found his name was only mentioned once as a pro-bono lawyer for children. She had written to the address on the list but her letter had come back 'no longer registered at this address'. Stubborn and determined she had written to him once a week ever since then and had put the letters in a box in her room. Someday she would find him and someday he would read the letters and want her in his life and be proud of her.

She worked hard at school, if her father was a lawyer then he would want her to be smart, so she kept her GPA up and she helped out where she could with some of the charities her mother and uncle Ducky helped out with, and sat listening to his stories for hours when her mom had him round for dinner.

All in all she was 'trying to be' a model child.

However, she loved police TV shows although she go annoyed as she could figure out 'who done it' within the first few minutes of the show starting. She still loved surfing, although that was strictly a holiday pastime and she loved music and the outdoors.

She just hoped she lived long enough to meet her father.

She looked up as the door opened and 'goon number 1' as she had nicknamed him walked in. "Food" he said and walked out again this time getting stopped by 'goon number 2' as he left….and he forgot to lock the door.

She waited to see if he would remember and come back but there was no sound so packing her bag, she slipped her shoes on and slipped out the door.

Glancing at a calendar on the wall she was surprised to find she had been there three days, it had felt longer, but no matter she was outta there!

* * *

Jordan Hampton sat quiet in the car as Deeks and Callen drove her back to the mission.

As they got out of the car she put her hand on his arm. "Marty, please?" she begged him, just wanting to talk.

"Jordan, I will help you save our daughter, but that's it." He said and walked off ahead of her leaving her to catch up.

"Ah, Dr. Hampton." Hetty said greeting her, "Welcome to OSP. I'm Hetty Lange; I hope my agents have been helpful to you."

Jordan nodded, "Thank you for help find my daughter." She said, "I'll do anything you need me to."

"Good, Mr. Callen has a plan, if you would like to accompany him and Mr. Deeks to Ops."

She nodded and she and the operations manager walked up the stairs, "You have a beautiful daughter," Hetty said, "She looks a lot like her father."

Jordan smiled, "She acts a lot like him as well." She said.

Walking into ops, Callen turned to them all, "Ok so here's the plan." He said.

* * *

Ellie slipped out of the house and started running in the direction of the road she could see in the distance, running past a sign she stopped dead, Mexico? She was in Mexico?

Luckily her Spanish wasn't too bad and Hell, Los Angeles is Los Angeles anywhere in the world, so she followed the direction the sign pointed and keeping just out of sight of the road started walking.

* * *

Carlos and Diego started screaming at each other when they walked into her room and discovered she was missing. "You let her get away!" Carlos screamed at his little brother.

Diego shrugged his shoulders, "Where can she go, it is 100km to the nearest person, she will die before she gets anywhere, she has no food or water, she will never make it."

Carlos had to agree with him, he picked up his satellite phone, "Agent Fitzgerald please," He said and waited. "Simon, it's Carlos, the Chica, she ran away…. We can't find her but she would make it far in this heat with no supplies…." He waited as Agent Simon Fitzgerald ranted on the other end of the phone, "You want us to do what?!" he asked

Carlos shook his head but did as he was asked; He climbed into his truck and drove to the medical center 100 km away. He shivered as he drove back knowing what his cargo was, the paperwork and fake badge, Agent Fitzgerald had provided him had come in very handy.

* * *

Pulling up outside the house Diego came out, "Where have you been? What did he say?"

"We were supposed to find and kill the girl, we aren't going to do that, so he sent me on a mission, apparently Dr. Hampton has been working with another agency, we are to stop her from ever working for NCIS again." Carlos said as he opened the back of the truck.

"Madre Dios!" Diego breathed when he saw what was in the truck.

The dead body of a fifteen year old girl, with blonde hair. "She died of a ruptured appendix, I didn't kill her, and we picked up her body and 5 units of blood."

He carried the girl into the house, "Come on Diego, it isn't murder, she's already dead."

"No Carlos, this is desecration I won't have any part of it!" Diego shook his head and backed off.

Carlos stormed into the house cussing his brother, he laid the girl's body on the bed, moving her hair to obscure her face and moved the sheets on the bed so it looked like the girl had been violated, he moved a knife across her throat, "Sorry Chica," he said to the corpse.

He liberally sprinkled the blood around the body to look like she'd bled out.

Then he set up the computer.

* * *

Eric was surprised as he received and incoming transmission.

He looked at Hetty for permission to open it and she nodded.

A man in a ski Mask dominated the screen, "Dr. Hampton, you were told not to interfere in this matter, by working with the LA NCIS team, you did that, your child has paid the price."

Jordan screamed as he moved allowing them to see the staged body on the bed.

Deeks caught her just as she fainted and the screen went black.

"Eric…find that son of a bitch!" Deeks growled, shaking with anger.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Deeks glared at Eric as he hurriedly shut off the feed, Nell knelt down beside Jordan and put her cardigan under her head for a pillow as Hetty came upstairs with the first aid kit. Deeks moved away as they tended to the woman, and slipped out quietly.

Climbing onto the flat roof that looked out over Greater Los Angeles, Deeks shut the door behind him, braced it with a chair Callen kept on the roof when he needed alone time and walked to the edge. He looked over and let out a chuckle, wasn't even high enough to jump from, he sank back and within moments found himself in a ball howling, crying for the loss of a child he didn't even know, he had failed her and he hadn't even met her. He was without a doubt just like his father.

How could she do this to him? To suddenly come back into his life without a word and tell him he's the father to her child…his child, his baby girl… his dead baby girl…

Deeks' breath hitched with each sob that fought its way out of his body, at least here no one could know how he felt and use it against him.

Kensi moved the chair she had seen down the hall and put it the other side of the door, glaring at any of the agents who walked past and stopped at the heart-wrenching noise that was emanating from the other side.

She knew he was breaking, and desperately wanted to be there for him, but he wouldn't welcome her seeing him like this so she did the next best thing she could, she watched his back. Jordan had been taken to Hetty's office to sit and calm down, she called the team doctor in hoping that she could help the poor woman, although even she was at a loss, this was not the outcome they had envisaged. Hetty watched as Jordan sobbed, Nell sitting close by her trying to offer whatever comfort she could as there was a loud bang from upstairs.

Kensi's voice floated down, "Deeks? Deeks….Deeks! Wait!"

* * *

Deeks came running down the stairs and headed for the door, "Mr. Deeks." Hetty asked, Deeks stopped his face distraught, but he turned and out of respect waited for her.

"Might I ask where you are going?" she asked.

"I'm going to find my little girl." He said his voice breaking, "I couldn't help her while she was alive and I'm damn well not leaving her body out there."

"Marty, I understand, I do…but you don't even know where she is." Hetty tried to reason with the detective.

"Yeah but there is a son of a bitch in San Diego that knows where she is, I'm gonna find him, get him to tell me and then I'm gonna shoot the bastard." He growled.

"What are you going to do tear the San Diego offices apart?" she asked.

"With my bare hands if I have to." He snarled.

Hetty put her hand on his arm as she made a decision, "Marty, I have to take you off the case,"

"WHAT? NO!" Deeks moved back, "Hetty you can't take me off this case, I owe her, I owe them both, I have to do this!" he begged.

Callen walked up behind her as Deeks made his plea. "Hetty, I'll take responsibility for him,"

"Mr. Callen, we don't want the case to be compromised," Hetty started.

"Compromised, he hurt one of our own, Let Deeks investigate I need my whole team Hetty, I promise he'll sit out the take down."

Hetty relented, "Very well Mr. Callen, Mr. Deeks is your responsibility; **do not** let him impede this investigation." She ordered. She walked off to greet the doctor who had walked in the door as Callen pulled Deeks aside.

"You gonna be able to do this?" Callen asked concerned.

Deeks shook his head, "I failed her Callen, I hadn't even met her and I failed my little girl."

"Are you walking away from this case?" Callen asked, looking Deeks in the eye with his hands on his shoulders.

"NO!" Deeks snapped.

"Then you haven't failed her, when you walk away and let these guys get away with it, **then,** you'll have failed her." Callen told him.

Deeks let out a shuddering breath, "Thanks," he sighed.

"Just keep your head in the game." Callen turned and headed to Ops Deeks followed but stopped shy of the door.

"I…I can't…" Deeks looked in the room, the last time he looked at that screen he had seen a sight he never wanted too again, looking through the door all he could see was her body on the screen.

* * *

Ellie couldn't believe it, she had followed the road, staying out of sight every time a car went past, hiding in a ditch at one point and despite the various cuts and scrapes she had she was relatively unhurt. She had been walking for five hours and finally she saw the border.

Sitting near the train station that crossed through the border into the U.S. she watched as people came and went until she saw what she was looking for, a harassed American mother with four children she was lugging suitcases and trying to keep all her children together, grabbing her bag she followed along behind. As she was just about to step on the train a border patrol guard eyed her, The blonde American woman turned quickly to her children, "Come on hurry up,"

"Coming Mom!" Ellie called along with the other children, the guard dropped back and she climbed onto the train.

The woman looked at Ellie and smiled, "Thank you for helping with my bag dear," she said as the doors closed.

"That's ok Ma'am, I gotta find my mom." Ellie said and moved further up the train.

She walked up the train and found a bathroom, she went in and shut the door, pouring water in the sink she washed her face and tidied herself up as best as she could. She had desperately wanted to borrow the woman's phone and call her mom, but she didn't know if someone had her too. She knew her dad worked in LA somewhere; she had planned on looking him up, hopefully he wouldn't reject her and he'd help her find her mom.

She had hoped she'd look prettier for him, but she needed to find him first.

Hearing the train pull into the station she got out and followed the same lady through to US soil. The main Los Angeles rail terminal was teeming with people as she walked looking a bit lost.

A couple of police officers saw the girl, dirty and a bit shaken looking around as if she were lost, Vikki Taylor, looked at the girl and alerting her partner walked over to her, "Hey kid?" she said softly.

Ellie jumped and tried to run, but Officer Taylor caught her, "Hey, it's ok, I just wanna talk to you," Ellie looked at them both terrified, "I have to find my dad…please?" she pulled back as her head started to swim.

"Ok kid, what's your dad's name?" Vikki asked.

"Deeks, Marty Deeks…I think he's a lawyer….My mom….." Ellie fainted as Officer Taylor caught her,

"Holy crap Jay, She says she's Deeks' kid?"

Jay Moreno looked at his partner as she laid the kid down, "You know this lawyer then?" he asked.

"He's not a lawyer; he's one of us, a cop." Taylor said as she called for an ambulance on her radio.

"You think he did this to her?" Jay asked.

Taylor shot him a look, "I've know Marty Deeks for years, ok, so I didn't know he had a kid, but I do know he'd never hurt one,"

"Look at her though, she's all scuffed up, looks like she's been on the streets for a few days and is probably half starved."

"I'm gonna call the lieutenant, Bates'll know how to get hold of him." Taylor said picking up the phone.

* * *

Deeks sat in ops with Eric going over the files of all the San Diego personnel connected with the steroid case, Vance had allowed them access to all the files and they were looking for discrepancies when his cell phone rang.

"Deeks." He said, "Look Bates, whatever it is, I'm not available…not now…I…WHAT? Where?" he dropped the phone and ran out of Ops leaving Eric looking confused.

Deeks ran into Hetty's office ignoring the woman and pushing past her to get to Jordan.

"She's alive." He panted

Jordan wiped her eyes, "What?" she asked in shock.

"Jor, our baby girl she's alive, LAPD picked her up at the main rail terminal, and she'd just got off a train from Mexico. They've taken her to hospital, come on, we have to go." He held his hand out and helped her up as Kensi and Hetty watched from behind them.

"Ms Blye. I think it would be prudent if you drove Mr. Deeks and Dr. Hampton to the hospital to see their daughter, Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna will be along shortly to take her statement, hopefully she'll be able to give us an insight into who took her."

Kensi nodded, "Come on Deeks, Dr. Hampton, let's go and see if it's her."

"It is her…it has to be." Jordan said with a small smile of hope, not thinking she grasped Deeks hand, he looked shocked for a second but realized she needed him to be strong, and he needed this too, truth be told. He held her hand as they walked behind Kensi out to the car.

* * *

"Mr. Callen!" Hetty's voice rang around the bullpen.

Callen came from around the corner, "You hollered Hetty?" he smirked.

"I did not 'Holler' Mr. Callen, I merely called with gusto," Hetty said letting him sit for a moment. "It appears we were wrong in our assumption that the body on the screen was indeed Miss Hampton," she waited as he absorbed what she had just said.

"Deeks' daughter's alive?" he asked.

Hetty nodded, "She was found by an LAPD patrol officer earlier on, Lieutenant Bates called Mr. Deeks and informed him, he is en-route with Dr. Hampton and Ms Blye."

"That's wonderful news," Callen grinned.

"Be that as it may, two things are still outstanding, who is behind the abduction in the first place, and like it or not, there was an apparently murdered young lady in that picture, we need to find out who she is and why she died."

Callen nodded, she was, as usual right, "OK, Sam and I will head to the hospital and see if Ellie remembers anything that will help and then we will head to the San Diego offices and if Eric finds anything while we are gone."

Callen walked out of Hetty's office with a grin, Deeks' daughter was alive, and he was going to get to meet her. Callen knew Deeks would be freaking out slightly, but knowing the pain that Jethro Gibbs went through when he had lost his wife and daughter after many hours spent during his own recovery from his shooting listening to Gibbs in his basement and talking about a great many things, he wouldn't wish that pain on anyone, the fact that Deeks had been spared that was, in his opinion, a miracle.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Pulling up outside the hospital Jordan was out of the car before it had even stopped.

Deeks and Kensi followed behind Kensi was a little ahead as Jordon got to the reception, "Ellie Hampton, she was brought in by LAPD?" Jordan said.

"You are?" The nurse asked.

"I'm her mother," Jordan replied looking around and seeing the two police officers, "Is she in there? Is my baby in there?" she cried walking towards the two officers.

"Ma'am?" Vikki Taylor asked, standing in between Jordan and the room where Ellie was lying peaceful.

"Is Ellie in there? Please; I'm her mother I need to see her!" Jordan begged.

"Hey Vikki, is Ellie in there?" Deeks asked walking up behind Jordan.

"Deeks, she your kid?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah,"

"What happened to her, did you do something to her?" Moreno asked darkly.

"What? NO! She was kidnapped; we thought she was dead, please…" Deeks begged.

"That explains why Bates' put us on protection duty. OK, sorry man, you know I had to ask." Moreno said.

Taylor opened the door and Jordan went in, she walked over to Ellie's bed and sat and held her hand.

Looking at Deeks with tears in her eyes she whispered, "She's alive." She was smiling as her tears fell knowing her daughter was safe and sound.

Deeks stood at the door, looking at the small child, frail and battered and asleep in the oversized hospital bed, or at least to his mind the bed looked big with her in it. Looking at her sleeping, there was no doubt in his mind that Jordan was telling the truth about her being his daughter, the way her blonde hair came down in waves about her face and the small birth mark he could see under her ear, both reminded him strongly of his mother. "Kenz, she's beautiful." Deeks whispered. Kensi grabbed his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"She looks just like you Marty," She smiled.

Ellie stirred and Deeks moved back to the door, Kensi shot him a look, "Where are you going,"

"I….I…er…I'm going to find a doctor." He said and backed out of the room.

* * *

Callen and Sam saw Deeks leaving the room as they walked up the corridor, "Hey Deeks, is it her?" Callen asked.

Deeks nodded, "Yeah, she's resting right now, I'm just going to see her doctor." He said.

"OK, we need to ask her some questions." Sam said.

"No…Not yet, please guys let her sleep first." Deeks begged them.

The doctor walked towards Ellie's room and Deeks caught her up, "Doc how is Ellie, really…?" he asked.

"You are?" Doctor Joan Vernon asked.

"Detective Marty Deeks LAPD, I was just wondering if she'd been hurt?" he asked.

"Well, We ran a rape kit, She hadn't been touched, so that's a blessing, but she has a fractured rib and extensive bruising, also she is dehydrated and exhausted, so we want to keep her in for a few days, just to make sure." She said. "We also checked her belongings there is a piece of paper, she was holding it tightly, and I think it may have the name of the man who took her." Joan handed him the piece of paper.

Deeks nodded looking at the paper and the doctor turned to him, "Have the parents been located?" she asked.

"Her mother is in there now." Deeks said, "I have to go and file the report, my colleagues will be around if you need anything." He said and turned to walk off to the exit.

* * *

Joan watched the man go; she was surprised how much this case had seemed to hit the young man, usually LAPD were more stoic when dealing with cases like this. Picking up Ellie Mae Hampton's file she walked into give the mother her findings and to check on her patient.

She knocked gently on the door and pushed it open she looked at the four adults in the room, the two men who had badges and must have been the other policeman's colleagues and the two women, one of them had to be the mother, but she didn't know which so she turned to the younger woman, "Hello, I'm Dr. Vernon, I'm dealing with your daughter's case."

Kensi smiled and nodded towards Jordan, "This is Dr. Hampton, Ellie's mom."

Joan smiled, "Sorry, when I talked to the officer in the corridor he didn't specify which one of you was her mother."

Callen looked up, "Where is Deeks?"

"It's ok; Miss Hampton had a piece of information on her I handed it to the detective. He said he was going back to the office,"

"I would have thought he'd want to be here?" Sam said confused.

"He asked about the girl, I gave him what information I could and then he left; I think he thought catching the man that did this was more appropriate."

"Well he's wrong, being here with his daughter is more appropriate." Sam snapped back.

"He's her father?" the doctor looked shocked, she schooled her features and turned to the mother. "Your daughter is resting now, but she wasn't violated while she was with those men, however she is severely dehydrated hence the drip."

Jordan sighed in relief, it could have been so much worse; she silently thanked God and looked again at her baby lying there sleeping. "When will she wake up?"

Joan smiled, "I can't tell you, she is exhausted and is just sleeping."

"Thank you Doctor." Jordan said and held tightly to her daughter's hand.

* * *

Callen, Sam and Kensi followed the doctor outside.

"Dr. Vernon, you said you talked to Detective Deeks can you tell me what information you gave him?"

"Of course, it was a piece of paper Miss Hampton was holding it and we could only get it out of her hand after we sedated her, all it said was Fitzg I hope that helps." She said and went on her way.

"It's that slimy agent, Simon Fitzgerald, he was asking about the case when Deeks ran out the first time, that's why I was slow to catch up to him. He had stopped Deeks on his way out of the conference room when we were questioning Jordan the first time." Kensi told them.

"You think he has something to do with this?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, but Deeks might." Callen said, "Let's get over to the San Diego Office before he does something stupid."

* * *

Deeks jumped in his car as soon as he had left the hospital, he had remembered Simon Fitzgerald as soon as he'd seen the piece of paper, the little slime ball had grabbed him as he'd left the office as Jordan had just told him he was a father, he'd tried to get information out of him but Deeks had brushed him off as nothing more than a nosey agent.

Now however, he was more than convinced, Fitzgerald had to be the agent behind this, Callen, Sam and Kensi would figure it out and then maybe interrogate him, maybe he'd go down, maybe not. In Deeks' opinion, far too many maybes. He had failed his little girl once, he wouldn't do it again. Before the others got their hands on him, Deeks was going to administer his own brand of justice, with the small part of him that was like his father. He'd seen too many bent police officers get out when dealing with members of the LAPD force, he couldn't take the chance that NCIS was the same. Not with what that 'man' had done to his daughter.

No Simon Fitzgerald was going to pay.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Deeks skidded the car to a halt outside the San Diego office. He thought about just running inside finding Fitzgerald and emptying his gun into his brain, he smiled for a second at the thought, his hand on his gun. Then he stopped. He was a police officer after all, this would make him a killer, no better than his father, this was _**not **_who he was.

He looked at the gun in his hand. Killing Fitzgerald would bring him closure, but it wouldn't make him pay for what he'd done to his little girl, it wouldn't bring back the dignity of the other child Fitzgerald had used to make him and Jordan think their daughter was dead. It wouldn't break him and more than anything that was what Deeks wanted, he wanted Simon Fitzgerald to feel as much pain and anguish he had felt since his former, teacher, lover, mentor, friend? Had come back into his life and turned it upside down. He wanted to wash away the guilt he felt about not being in his daughter's life since she was born.

He watched as Fitzgerald walked out of the NCIS offices, laughing about something with a colleague, Deeks' blood started to boil. How could he be laughing when he had caused his little girl to be lying hurt in a hospital bed?

Fitzgerald got into his car and drove right past Deeks not even noticing him. Deeks smiled a cold cruel smile and started his car and followed him.

* * *

Callen and Sam pulled into the car park just in time to see the tail lights of Deeks' car turning the corner; Kensi had stayed to protect Jordan and Ellie. Callen turned the car around, "Eric can you check, I think Deeks' car just left the San Diego offices parking lot?"

Callen could hear Eric typing on his keyboard, "Got it Callen, yeah he's following a blue Honda civic. He doesn't seem to be trying to stop…." Eric's voice stopped as Deeks' car had cut Fitzgerald's car off and had slammed it into some barriers. Eric could see on the monitor and was explaining to Callen and Sam, who were stuck in traffic, that Deeks had just climbed out of his car and pulled Fitzgerald's lifeless body out of the car and had thrown him into the back of his own car and had just driven off at speed.

Sam hit the horn in frustration; the accident Deeks had caused had resulted in a snarl up. Traffic was building all around them, "Eric keep your eye on Deeks, I need to know where he's going, let Hetty know what's going on." Callen ordered.

Eric started rattling off directions. "I know where he's going!" Eric said with a sudden burst of insight. "He's heading back to Mexico, where they held Ellie."

It was, at best, a hunch, but Callen thought that this was Deeks' probable destination so he agreed with Eric, who informed Hetty to get them the needed paperwork to get them across the border.

Deeks smiled as he looked in his mirror, Callen and Sam had been ditched and trussed up like a turkey on his back seat was one bloody and bruised Simon Fitzgerald. Deeks knew exactly where he was going, and what he was going to do and he enjoyed channeling his inner father. Pulling up at a rundown house just this side of the US/Mexican border he looked over at the unconscious body of Fitzgerald again. "Don't wake up." He snarled as he climbed out of the car.

* * *

Max Gentry looked out of his window and gave a grin at the sight of the kid he and Gordon Brandel had mentored…until he had gone straight; His greatest protégé and his greatest disappointment.

"Martin Brandel…Long time no see kid, what 'ya doing here."

"Need clear passage over the border."

"Thought you were a cop?" Max asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Not right now Uncle Max." Deeks said.

Deeks held his arms out so Max could frisk him, "So you switched sides again?" he asked handing Deeks a beer.

Deeks took a long drink, "Just for now, I can promise you this will stay between us."

Max eyed him up and down, "You using boy," His face darkened, "You know what I taught you about using drugs."

Deeks laughed, "Never, Got something needs transporting to Mexico, under the radar so to speak."

Max's eyes lit up, right then he looked the double of Marty. "Guns?"

Deeks shook his head, "Come see,"

They walked out to the car and Deeks moved the blanket off of Fitzgerald's body.

Max stepped back in shock, "Holy shit Brandel!" he spotted the badge on Simon's belt. "That's a fucking FED!"

Deeks laughed, "Yeah and he kidnapped my little girl. He hurt her, left her to starve and used the body of another 14 year old girl to make me and her mother think she was dead." He threw the blanket back over the man, "He's no fed, he's worse than you are."

Max laughed, "Yeah kid, but I'm family."

Deeks had to admit he was right, he had used the persona of uncle Max once or twice, because of his close relationship with the real Max he hadn't liked being him and truth be told Max was a bit of an asshole, but when the need came he knew that Max would help him, Max had taken him in for a while after he had shot his father, he had trained Deeks to be an expert Pickpocket and marksman, he could drink his weight's worth in whiskey and still fleece a mark, then Deeks had decided to become a lawyer. Max had to admit he was disappointed but the kid was still family, even if to outsiders neither mentioned the other.

Max would never tell his friends that his sister's boy was a LAPD cop and more than Deeks would tell the team that his hated Max persona was in fact based on a real person.

"Put the car in the garage now." Max prodded.

"Ain't got time, I just need a way across the border without being searched." Deeks persisted.

"Fine, but I want in on this. Stick the car around back off road, I have some people to see, somehow, whether you're playing cop or not right now, I don't think they'll be pleased to see you, Drink tequila and rest up, we'll be going after sundown." Max said and threw a half drunk bottle of Tequila at Deeks who caught it and took a drink.

* * *

Eric watching with Hetty in ops let Callen and Sam know that Deeks hadn't crossed the border, but had instead stopped at a house just on the US side of the border.

"Anything on the owner?" Sam asked.

Eric tapped on the keyboard… "That can't be right?" he said more to himself than anyone else.

"Mr. Beale?" Hetty asked.

"The house is registered to a Max Gentry…but isn't that one of Deeks' alias'?" Eric asked her.

He hacked into a traffic camera that caught the corner of the house and was surprised to see two remarkably similar men walk around the side of the house from the front. Eric and Hetty watched as Deeks caught a bottle of Tequila and took a large swig, before enveloping the older man in a hug and walking into the house as the older man walked past the camera and out of sight.

Eric screen captured a picture of the older man, "Mr. Beale I want everything on this Max Gentry, before Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna get there." She ordered.

* * *

In the hospital Ellie slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room at her mother sitting beside her bed and the strange woman sitting in the corner.

"Momma?" she croaked her voice still raw.

Jordan shot up, "Ellie!" She gently hugged her daughter, "Baby…how are you feeling?" She asked as Kensi slipped out to get the doctor.

"Tired and sore, my feet hurt momma…I'm sorry, I let them take me." She said small tired tears slipping from her eyes.

"Its ok baby, none of this was your fault, now; Kensi is going to stay with us until her partners get back."

Ellie looked up as Kensi re-entered the room.

"Are you a cop?" she asked.

"No, I work for NCIS, like your mom and dad." She replied.

Ellie sat up, "You work with my dad…is he here?" She asked excited.

Kensi shook her head, "You're dad is tracking down the bad men who hurt you, I'm sure he'll be here as soon as he can."

"He will, did he see me already…Momma? Does he like me?"

"He loves you very much baby and I'm sure it won't be long until he gets back and can tell you how much he loves you himself."

Tiredness over took her but for the first time in a while, Ellie Mae fell asleep with a huge smile on her face.

Kensi looked at the child as she slept and silently she prayed that whatever her partner was doing he didn't do anything that would get him killed or worse… Fired.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Deeks opened an eye as Max shook him awake, he looked around it was still daylight, "Thought we weren't going till after dark?" Deeks slurred the tequila still floating around his system.

"We got company, were you followed?" Max snarled.

Deeks rubbed a hand down his face, "No…you sure it ain't the federales?" Deeks yawned, grabbing a bottle and not really caring either way.

Max snatched it off him and threw it at the corner where it shattered spraying glass over the head and body of Simon Fitzgerald who was tied up to a chair in the corner. Alcohol and glass rained down over the agent who flinched.

Deeks laughed, "He's scared of a little alcohol," forgetting the company for a moment Deeks walked up to Fitzgerald and breathing his alcohol fueled breath in his face said, "You think my baby girl flinched when you beat her, or when you had her kidnapped and taken away from her mother."

Fitzgerald looked up his concussion easing to see the face of the LAPD liaison officer who had been in with the agents from OSP.

Deeks ripped away the gag over Fitzgerald's mouth, "So did she, did she cry, did she beg for you to take her home…you knew she was the child of a colleague and yet you put her through this!"

Simon smiled, "She was a pretty thing and I made sure she'll never forget me."

Deeks snapped round and went to punch him.

"Martin!" Gentry stopped him, "Followed remember!"

"What?" Deeks asked confused.

"I HAVE FEDS OUTSIDE!" Gentry screamed in his face.

Deeks looked outside, ignoring Sam's car he couldn't see anything, Sam's car he saw every day.

"Don't see anything, just Sam." he mumbled, not even thinking as he picked up his gun off the table,

"Sam?" Max asked his voice a low growl.

Deeks shrugged, Sam was just Sam, and maybe he was waiting for Callen.

* * *

Callen and Sam listened to Eric, "OK so, Max Gentry, 53. Brother to Jessica Brandel, he took Deeks in when Martin Brandel shot his father and his mother was institutionalized."

"His mother's crazy?" Callen asked.

"Nope in a coma, has been since Deeks was eleven. Deeks has been paying for her medical bills since he left school." Eric said surprised.

"He never said." Sam said shocked,

"He never says much of anything." Callen stated. "Gentry have a record?" Callen asked.

"Er…yeah, he has been arrested for running a child pick-pocketing ring, gun running, drug smuggling and dealing, he's like a modern day Fagin." Eric said

"Who?" Callen asked.

"Fagin, Mr. Callen, A man who ran a group of orphans and had them engage in illicit activities for profit." Hetty interjected.

"Did he get arrested?" Callen asked.

"It was in a book called Oliver Twist by Mr. Charles Dickens." Hetty enlightened him.

"Oh." Callen said shooting Sam a 'save me' look.

"You think Deeks ran with him?" Sam asked.

"He might have done, they seemed to be pretty close." Eric said to them.

"Be careful Mr. Hanna, our Mr. Deeks may be protective of Mr. Gentry."

"We need to get in there." Sam said and checked his gun.

* * *

Max relaxed, the one thing he knew was that no matter what, Martin would never betray him and if it worked out maybe he could finally get Martin to leave the LAPD and come and work for him, put the talents he'd taught his nephew to better use.

He looked at the tied up, battered and bruised body of the federal Agent.

"Marty…What do you plan on doing when this is over, I mean I'm all for killing him, he hurt your kid. But how can you go back to working for the agency that employed him?" he asked opening a new bottle of Jack and passing it to his inebriated nephew.

Deeks took a long swig. "I dunno, I mean…I can't go back I know this is bad, but he _**hurt **_my little girl!"

"Why aren't you with her, surely she needs her father, won't she miss you?"

"I haven't met her; she's in the hospital with her mother." Deeks admitted.

"And you're here?" Max pushed hoping to get a rise out of him.

"I need this, he needs to pay…he has a badge and he's acting like he's fucking GOD!" Deeks snapped, the alcohol starting to get to him.

Max smiled, "Nearly there boy…"

Deeks looked at him quizzically, "What?"

"You've lost your job, someone you worked with got your kid hurt…you need to work for me…just like your father."

"_**I AM NOT LIKE HIM**_!" Deeks yelled.

"_**YES YOU ARE**_!" Max screamed back at him, he grabbed Deeks by the hair and turned his face to the battered Agent sitting in the corner. "If you're not like Gordon, then why the_** HELL**_ is he _**HERE **_and not in a fucking jail cell." Max yelled pointing to Fitzgerald tied up and bleeding in the corner.

Deeks looked at Fitzgerald like it was the first time he'd noticed the man was there. "I…I dunno…I wanted…he…" Deeks couldn't finish.

"See you find yourself a father and immediately turn into yours. You are Gordon's son, nothing will change that, the question is what are _**you **_going to do about it?" Max sneered putting a gun into Deeks' hand. "Shoot him, come work for me."

Deeks stared at the gun and at the frightened eyes on the federal Agent as he looked from the uncle to the nephew.

"We are blood Martin, you were trained to be mine…this is what he wanted, You'll make enough money to provide for your kid and they will never have to see this."

Deeks shook as the full impact of his actions hit him, "Oh my god, I've ruined everything!" he breathed. Realizing how much like his father he was becoming.

* * *

There was a loud crash as Callen and Sam kicked the door down.

"Deeks…FREEZE!" Sam said pointing his gun at his friend, "Come on Deeks, put the gun down."

"I…I dunno, Sam, I…." Deeks started, he couldn't think his head was pounding and the room was spinning.

Callen raised his gun at Max who was pointing a gun at Deeks as well. "Federal Agent, Drop the gun!"

"NO!" Deeks moved to put himself in between Max and Callen as Max tried to shoot Deeks. Callen fired, his bullet missing Deeks and hitting Max, Max's bullet hit Deeks in the side and both men went down.

"Maaax!" Deeks groaned as he tried to get closer to his uncle. "Max….Don't die…please, don't die…" He grabbed Max's head the bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

"Deeks…I'm…" Callen tried to help him but Deeks shook him off,

"HE WAS MY FAMILY!" Deeks sobbed, he reached for the gun, but Callen kicked it away from him. He could smell the alcohol on Deeks' breath and knew he was intoxicated.

"Eric, we need two ambulances' and a coroner's van." Sam said.

"Deeks?"

"He's ok, well, he's been shot, but he's not the one who's dead."

"Mr. Hanna, Agent Fitzgerald?" Hetty asked.

"He's alive, beaten, but still ok for questioning."

"So Mr. Gentry…?"

"He's dead, Callen shot him, and Max shot Deeks."

Hetty sighed, "Very well Mr. Hanna, you will wait there for a team to arrive to take over the scene, Mr. Callen is to accompany, Mr. Deeks to hospital, and you need to arrest him until we can interview him about this. I can stall internal affairs for only so long Mr. Hanna, I want this dealt with as soon as possible. You will accompany Agent Fitzgerald I want him interviewed as well as soon as he is able."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Deeks heard the beeping as he woke up, his head was throbbing and his side was pulling and burning.

He groaned as he tried to sit up.

"Rest, your safe now." Kensi's voice cut through the pain.

"Kenz?" Deeks couldn't figure out what was going on….then it hit him. "Ellie? MAX!" he tried again to sit up his eyes opening and his vision swimming.

"Deeks?" Kensi wrapped her arm around his torso and helped him to sit as he started to vomit, passing him a bowl and calling for a nurse she moved away as the medical staff came in to check him out.

Flipping her phone she sent a quick text and watched as the staff sedated Deeks who was trying to get out of the bed.

As the sedative took effect Deeks looked at Kensi, "I'm sorry," he said as oblivion overtook him.

Kensi walked outside the room and looked to where Callen sat on a chair watching the door but not coming any closer.

"Callen, are you coming in?" she asked sidling up to him.

Callen shook his head, "Nope,"

Kensi looked at him, "Why? He's waking up soon and he's gonna be hurting, if you sit with him I can go and let Jordan and Ellie know he's here." She reasoned.

"Can't do that." Callen said looking grim.

"Why not!" Kensi exclaimed, "He's a part of the team, we should be here for him."

"You be there for him, its best if he doesn't see the others." Callen advised.

"Callen, what's going on?" she asked.

"Deeks is under arrest." He stated.

"WHAT!" Kensi sat on the chair next to him, "Oh God, what did he do? Did he kill Fitzgerald?" she asked.

Callen shook his head, "Beat him pretty bad though. Sam's getting him checked out and then taking him to the boatshed."

"Good." Kensi said.

"Good?"

"I'd beat him too if he got near me." Kensi snapped, "Doing that to that lovely little girl."

"How is she?" Callen asked grateful for the chance to change the subject.

"She should be ok; I think Jordan said she was going home in a few days." Kensi said, "I offered to drive them home." She told him.

Callen resisted the urge to roll his eyes and come out with a prayer for the passengers. "Listen, I'm gonna go in and see Deeks." He got up and walked to the door. "You need to stay here." He said.

"He's my partner." Kensi snapped.

"Right now he's a suspect; if he's awake I need to talk to him."

"Not until I have pronounced him fit to be interviewed," A doctor said walking up behind him.

* * *

"You are?" Callen asked stepping in front of the door,

"I'm Dr. Simmons, Mr. Deeks' doctor, he's just got out of surgery and I won't have you pushing him. Now if you'll excuse me I need to check on Mr. Deeks." He said and moved to get past Callen.

"I'm coming with you." Callen said and entered the room.

Deeks was leaning against the headboard staring out of the window, he didn't move as Callen and the doctor came in.

"Mr. Deeks, I'm Dr. Simmons I was the surgeon who stitched up your wound. May I see it?"

Deeks didn't move.

Dr. Simmons shot Callen a look and moved towards his patient. "Please, I need to check for infection." He lifted Deeks' shirt and looked over the bullet wound. "Um…it seems to be healing nicely; I would estimate that you should be able to leave here today, then a week before you go back to work."

Deeks gave a derisive snort and stared out of the window.

"Does it hurt?" He asked concerned.

"Does it matter?" Deeks replied.

"Deeks, just answer the doctor." Callen prompted.

Deeks sighed, "No doctor is doesn't hurt, so can I go and get arrested now?" he said sarcastically.

The doctor looked at him confused.

"We done?" Deeks asked.

"Yes you are ready to be released I'll go get your papers." He said and quickly left.

"Deeks what's with you man?" Callen asked.

"Look, Callen I don't care man, I know your gonna arrest me for what I did to Fitzgerald and to be quite honest I don't care, he hurt my little girl he's lucky you stopped me before I killed him."

"What about Ellie?" Callen asked.

"She has her mom, she doesn't need me, she probably doesn't want to see me anyway." He pulled off the scrub shirt and pulled his own blood stained sweatshirt over the top.

"You haven't even seen her." Callen countered.

"Yes I did and do you know what I saw. My little girl, my flesh and blood; lying in a hospital bed because, some scumbag of an NCIS agent wanted money more than he though she deserved her life." Deeks spat, "So go ahead arrest me cos I swear to God if he gets within three feet of me I will kill him."

Callen moved towards him as he started to hyperventilate. "Deeks, maybe she'll want to see you." He said offering some hope.

"Yeah, maybe she can get visiting hours in prison, Max said I'd always end up in jail." He said dryly, "He was the last of my family."

"You still have Ellie." Callen countered.

"YOU DON'T GET IT!" Deeks shouted sitting upright, "She's always going to be better off without me, I nearly killed a man, not because of the job but because he hurt her, my instinct was not to bring him in, but to kill him. I'm so much like my father it's stupid; I'd be poison to her."

"Daddy?" Ellie said as she stuck her head in the door, "I won't be better off without you, I need you."

Deeks stopped rooted to the spot and looked at his daughter, she stood there swaying gently one hand holding the portable IV pole that was still attached to her pumping fluids into her body.

"Why are you here, baby girl?" Deeks said gently.

"Kensi said you were hurt and you needed me, Can….Can I hug you?" she asked tentatively.

Deeks looked at Callen who gave him a nod and he opened his arms as she ran into them. "Daddy, my daddy." She sobbed.

Deeks held her tight and breathed in her scent, she was a part of him, she wasn't like his father, and she was sweet and kind.

"I'm sorry baby." Deeks said his voice raspy with emotion. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, mom told me, you didn't know about me." She turned around and grabbed a box from Jordan's hands. "I wrote these for you so you could get to know me." She said and handed the box to him. "You can read them if you want." She said tentatively.

"I'd love to." Deeks gave a small smile.

Ellie held him again, "I have to go back to my room, they'd only let me out for a while, can you come and see me again, please daddy?" she asked.

Deeks smiled, "I have to go with Callen and sort something out, but if I can I'll come back and see you."He promised, not noticing the small tear that escaped. He smiled sadly at her and mouthed 'thank you' to Jordan, she nodded and left.

* * *

Callen looked at Deeks as he sat back on the bed stroking the box he'd been given like it was solid gold.

"I have to take you to the boatshed for questioning, you know that."He said kinder than he'd been earlier.

Deeks nodded, "Thanks Callen, It's ok, you have your job to do, it doesn't matter anymore." He said quietly as Callen stepped outside to get Deeks' discharge papers.

Deeks pulled himself round and slowly opened the box there were years of pictures and letters all in separate envelopes with dates on them. He opened the one with the earliest date on.

Ellie's handwriting was still shaky, as a young hand is when it learns to write, "Dear Daddy, Mommy said that one day we will see you and I can write you letters. I am Ellie Mae, I am six years old, my teacher is Mrs. Miller. She is very nice. I want a dog but mommy says no. I love you daddy. Love Ellie."

There was a picture of three stick people with the words Mommy, Daddy and me; underneath it.

Deeks heard the door go and thrust the letter back in the box.

"You ready?" Callen asked.

Deeks nodded, he didn't care what happened now, he knew that in avenging his little girl he had done more for her than his father had ever done for him and that he had done the right thing. And hell if he had to go to prison he would have plenty to read.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Deeks walked past Sam refusing to make eye contact with him as Callen walked him over to the interrogation room at the boatshed.

"Other side Deeks." Callen said as Deek went to sit on his normal side.

"Sorry." Deeks said and sat on the other side.

Callen walked out and grabbed the file. Looking at Deeks on the monitor he sighed as Sam came over. "You ok?"

"No…not really, I'm about to interview a member of my team for doing something I would have done in a heartbeat had I been in his position….hell I was in his position with the Comescu's and I killed them, I get exactly where he's coming from." Callen said sadly.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't be the one doing the interview." Said a voice from behind him.

They looked as Granger walked in and took the file from Callen's hand.

"He's screwed isn't he?" Callen asked.

Granger looked at him, "I can say his days as a cop are over." He said.

Callen looked at Sam worried as Granger grabbed the file and walked into interrogation.

* * *

"Shit." Deeks said under his breath as Granger walked in.

"Indeed Mr. Deeks, you are in deep shit." He replied.

Deeks closed off and glared at him, "I don't regret a thing." He snapped.

"That's good." Granger said.

"What?!"

"You took that step, although it was a little over the top, you found out who was blackmailing Dr. Hampton and who was responsible for the kidnap of her…sorry your daughter. My question to you is would you put that kind of dedication in again."

"Sorry?" Deeks was confused now.

"You didn't kill him did you?"

"I…I wanted to…but I…I couldn't." Deeks admitted. "Why do you care though, I'm through as a cop."

"You are, we have your gun, and I need your badge for Lieutenant Bates." Granger confirmed.

Deeks reached into his back pocket and held the badge for a second, running this thumb over the metal, with a sigh he tossed it onto the table and looked away.

"So have you given any thought to your future?" Granger asked.

Deeks laughed, for the first time in a long while a deep sad emotion filled laugh. "My future, well I think I'm gonna be pretty busy for the next five to ten years don't you?" He looked at up at Granger his face filled with hopelessness. "Maybe after that I may get to know my daughter…if she still wants to know me,"

"That's a pity." Granger said closing the file in front of him.

"I don't regret it, I'd do it again." Deeks said defiantly.

"I had hoped so." Granger said.

"What?!" Deeks said, this was echoed by Callen and Sam in the main room.

"Well we thought you'd want this badge." Granger put an NCIS badge on the table.

Deeks picked it up. "Are you insane?" Deeks asked honestly.

* * *

"What's he playing at?" Callen asked Sam in the other room.

"I am hoping he's convincing our Mr. Deeks to stay." Hetty said as her face appeared in the small box on the monitor.

"Hetty?"

"Fitzgerald copped a plea to his crimes, he has admitted to taking Miss Hampton and arranging for the body of that poor dead girl to be displayed."

"But Bates doesn't want him back?" Sam asked.

'"To be honest I believe that Lieutenant Bates has been looking for a reason to 'offload' Mr. Deeks for a while." She told them.

They looked back at Deeks who was still looking at the badge.

"Deeks." Granger asked,

"Why?" Deeks asked eventually.

"Why what?" Granger replied.

"Why am I not going to jail? Why did Bates….Scratch that I know exactly why Bates wanted me gone, Why are you offering me a job?" Deeks asked.

"You are not going to jail because Fitzgerald took a plea so he'd let us in on the other members of his gang, you have been cleared. And because, Hetty sees something in you and she thinks that you'd be a great special agent…now Deeks, Sign the Damn forms." Granger said pushing the paper towards him.

Deeks took them and looked at them his hand stopped near the pen.

"You need a job; you have a child to support."

"I'm not going to jail?" Deeks asked stunned.

"No Deeks, but you are due for dinner with your daughter in an hour, so I suggest you sign the forms and go and see Hetty for a wardrobe change."

"I…."

"The forms." Granger smiled as Deeks finally signed the forms, "I would suggest to ask Sam and Callen to drive you back to the mission, I assume they have questions." He said and stood up.

"You have a week off; we will see you after that Special Agent Deeks." Granger said he stood up and left.

* * *

"Special…Agent…." Deeks looked at the new badge in his hands.

"Congratulations man" Callen said as he walked in the room.

"Am I dead?" Deeks asked.

"What?"

"I thought I was going to prison, and now I'm a special agent?" He said totally stunned.

Callen smirked over at Sam, "I've heard of this, new dad syndrome, you become a parent the mind goes, was that what it was like for you Sam?" he asked.

Sam shot him a look. "Come on Deeks, we're all going to meet this daughter of yours." He told him, "I don't want to be late."

Deeks walked out of the boatshed nursing his wounds and holding tightly to the badge that Granger had given him and the box of letters that he had left on the table as he blindly got into the car.

"Shell shocked," Sam grinned at Callen before they got in.

* * *

Walking into the mission Deeks hesitated as he got closer to the door.

"She isn't going to bite you know." Callen said.

"Who, Kensi or Hetty?" Deeks asked.

"Neither of them." Callen gave Deeks a small shove and he went inside holding tightly to the box of letters.

Kensi stood at the door, "Ok Mr.….Showers." she said holding her hands out. "I'll hold that." she offered.

He reluctantly handed over the box as she walked him towards the showers, "I…Kensi…I think I've got this bit." Deeks said heading into the male shower area.

Kensi took the box and placed it on the desk, Hetty walked over "I take it Mr. Deeks is here now?" she asked.

"He's in the showers Hetty." Kensi told him.

"Good, good, I have his suit here for him, and an outfit for you Ms Blye, Mr. Callen has picked his suit up and along with Mr. Hanna is already changing."

"Are you coming as well?" Kensi asked.

Hetty smiled, "I have a new agents paperwork to process." She smiled and headed back to her office.

Deeks walked out of the shower wrapped in a towel and looked at the matching suit, shirt and tie that Kensi had hung up for him. He sat for a second on the bench looking at the suit. He couldn't believe it, he had thought that he'd be wearing orange and heading out on a prison transport by now rather than about to dress in a posh, possibly designer label suit to go to dinner with his team, his ex- teacher/girlfriend and the mother of his child and his daughter…his beautiful wondrous daughter. His child.

He suddenly felt faint and ran to the bathroom, hitting the bowl just in time.

He stood up and washed his mouth out, he knew by the fifteen minute call Eric had just played over the mission's intercom he needed to get a move on.

He had been a detective, he had faced down his fair share of bad guy, he had been undercover as everything from a homeless guy to a mixed martial arts fighter. He had been shot at. Blown up, drugged and beaten. From most people in his life from his father to all manner of dirt bags. He was now, (God knows how?) a special agent, he had even faced dirty bombs, and death on a regular basis.

But never until he looked in the mirror to tighten his tie and brush his hair had he ever felt so afraid that he was shaking and right now, he was shaking so much he couldn't hold his brush.


End file.
